North Carolina Basketball: 5 Things Tar Heels Must Prove Early in 2014-15

The North Carolina basketball team is No. 6 in the country and has visions of a national championship at the end of the year, but there are things it must take care of early in the season.

In fact, the Tar Heels only have three games before the Battle 4 Atlantis, where they play Butler, either UCLA or Oklahoma and then likely Florida or Wisconsin. That is a quick turnaround for a rather young team with only a few warm-up contests to iron things out.

With that in mind, here is a look at five things North Carolina must do early in the 2014-15 season.

Establish Backcourt Help for Marcus Paige

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Marcus Paige may just be the best player in America, and that is something that will pay dividends throughout the season for North Carolina.

There is very little he cannot do on the floor, from hitting three-point shots to attacking the basket off the dribble to setting up his teammates with perfect passes. He absolutely carried the Tar Heels throughout the year in 2013-14 and ended up leading the team in both scoring and assists.

However, if North Carolina is going to win the title or even the ACC, Paige is going to need some help in the backcourt.

The brunt of that responsibility will likely fall on the shoulders of freshmen Joel Berry, Justin Jackson and Theo Pinson, although Pinson and Jackson are more shooting guard/small forward hybrids. The youngsters should look at those first few games as an opportunity to let Roy Williams and Paige know that they can handle the additional responsibility.

Otherwise, the opponents will lock in on Paige all year.

Get Some Consistency from Brice Johnson

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If we are talking about pure talent, Brice Johnson is one of the best players on the team and even the ACC.

His main issue thus far in his career has been consistently staying on the floor and out of foul trouble. Incredibly, his per-40 minutes averages last year were 21 points, 12.4 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 2.6 blocks, per his College Basketball Reference page.

Those are All-American numbers.

Johnson will take on a larger role this year with the departure of James Michael McAdoo, so those first few games are a chance to get some experience and confidence under his belt. If he learns how to play effectively without fouling in those initial wins, he should be more confident when the schedule heats up.

A consistently dominant Johnson pairing up with Paige in transition or even pick-and-roll looks in the half court would be a nightmare for opposing defenses. He has to stay out of foul trouble to make that a reality.

Figure out Closing Rotation

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The starters are the ones who get their names called out by the announcer with the lights off and the crowd going crazy, but who is on the floor at the end of the game is far more important.

Between Paige, Jackson, J.P. Tokoto, Johnson, Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah Hicks, Pinson, Berry and even Nate Britt, Williams has a very deep roster that can be a problem for the opposition. Even if North Carolina is winning big in those early few games, Williams should try to see what his best five will be in crunch time.

Will Tokoto be on the floor for his defensive prowess? Will there be more big men or guard/forward hybrids on the court? Does Williams want his most athletic guys on the floor to increase the tempo and on-ball pressure or his best rebounders?

Those questions all need to be answered before the marquee nonconference games and the ACC slate.

Build the Freshmen’s Confidence

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North Carolina will be heavily reliant on Berry, Jackson and Pinson, and it should be that way. After all, we are talking about incredibly talented freshmen who can do a little bit of everything on the floor.

Still, there is an element of risk relying on the youngsters when a championship is the end goal, but the more confidence they have when the schedule gets tougher, the better they will be.

All three can score from anywhere on the floor, attack the rim off the dribble and get out in transition and are the types of players who should thrive next to Paige in the open floor. Look for Williams to recognize how important confidence is for young players in those first few games and call their numbers early and often.

If Berry, Jackson and Pinson put up impressive numbers when North Carolina is running plays for them, they will be more confident and ready to get involved in the important games later in the season.

Win Easy Ones

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North Carolina could play three top-notch teams in the Battle 4 Atlantis to go along with games against Ohio State, Iowa and Kentucky in the nonconference schedule. Then the Tar Heels have to deal with the loaded ACC and Duke, Louisville, Virginia, Syracuse and a number of tricky games.

Dick Vitale of ESPN rated it as the best conference in America:

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The league has four teams in the preseason top 10 of the coaches poll: Duke (No. 3), North Carolina (No. 6), Virginia (No. 8) and Louisville (No. 9). No other conference has more than two. The addition of the Cardinals cements the ACC's position as head of the class.

How tough is this league? You have four head coaches already enshrined in Springfield in the Basketball Hall of Fame -- Coach K, Jim Boeheim, Roy Williams and Rick Pitino. If you add up the victory total of all of the coaches combined in the ACC, it is more than 6,400, a staggering total.

With the addition of Louisville, the current ACC configuration has three of the past six national champions (Cardinals 2013, Duke 2010, North Carolina 2009).

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Bottom line, there are going to be some losses for the Tar Heels this year, especially with such a loaded schedule and youngsters who may need some time to get adjusted to the college game. That means North Carolina needs to win the easy games to help build a resume.

Clearly, this team will not be on the bubble barring some type of disastrous season, but it needs an impressive resume to earn a potential No. 1 or 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. The only way to do that is by avoiding any shocking upsets.